Week 6 MACtion Bet-kakke Sports Gambling Lessons and Picks

Sure, at its most basic, the return of football is its own reward. But perhaps you’re like me and looking for a way to make even the most uninteresting games have a little bit of excitement and put some skin in the game for you. Enter the glorious world of sports wagering.

Admittedly, sports wagering is not for everyone and there’s more reasons to not do it than to do it, but if you have disposable income and live near a place where this is an option, then combining making some dollar bills with watching some football isn’t a bad way to spend your time. You haven’t truly lived until you have been on pins and needles for a mid-week SunBelt game where a final drive is going to determine whether it’s a backdoor cover or a perfect weekend.

Each week this season, we’ll give you a little gambling lesson and your Mid-American Conference odds, all for entertainment purposes, of course.

Lesson 6: Handling the Streaks

Last week we told you the only lesson you needed was to follow our advice and picks. I hope you did because we absolutely crushed it yet again. More on that later.

Our lesson this week is how to handle streaks, which is fitting since we’re on a banger right now. If you gamble long enough, you’re going to have more than a few streaks. Some hot ones, like now for us, where every pick you make seems to come up positive. Those are the best ones to be on, for obvious reasons. A good streak, while practicing proper bankroll management, is a great way to increase your bankroll and (most importantly) have some fun. If you don’t have fun when you’re wagering, it probably is time to walk away. But what happens when the opposite is true? When every wager you make seems to come up a half point off or your big favorite moneyline parlay just poops the bed. That’s frustrating as can be and can put you on tilt faster than you can say, “Three team teaser”.

With the swings you undergo, whether good or bad, your impulse may be to bet bigger in the good times and smaller in the bad. That’s a really not great idea. If you adhere to what we talked about earlier with bankroll management, your wagers shouldn’t be more than 3-5% of your bankroll. That keeps your losses mitigated and when your hot streak ends (which it always does) you aren’t bankrupt because of the Ls you take one weekend. It’s also worth noting, and something I’ve employed from time to time, that a week or two off sometimes clears your mind and gets you back on track. Don’t be afraid to take a break. Knowing when to reset your tapes is another sign of someone that understands this gambling thing of ours.

The simple fact of it is that most gamblers will have hot weeks, hot seasons, even hot years, but they’ll also have cold weeks, cold seasons, and cold years. Over the course of a lifetime, if you’re above 50-50 to the positive and actually make money, you’re doing better than most. Like the wise old gamblers say, those big buildings in Las Vegas didn’t get built by the gamblers winning all the time. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you (or to themselves).

Off we go for this week’s picks...

Week 5 Results

Fearless Leader’s Week 5 MAC Selections:
Boston College (-10) WIN
Ohio (-5) WIN
Buffalo (-8) WIN
Kentucky (-14.5) LOSS
Notre Dame (-20.5) WIN
Akron (-2) WIN
Ball State (+14) LOSS
NIU (+10) WIN

BONUS PICKS
Tulsa (+8.5) LOSS
Florida State (-7.5) LOSS
Texas A&M (-7.5) LOSS

Brutal beats on the FSU and A&M picks. The half point cost us a win in both and the difference between 2-1 and 0-3 on the bonus picks. But let’s not worry about that fact. Oh, no. Let’s instead focus on the MAC picks, because YOUR BOY IS ON FIRE. A 6-2 week in Week 5 to go along with 11-5 the prior two weeks, and that’s a 17-7 record against the spread in the last three weeks. 17-7 IN THE LAST. THREE. WEEKS. In case you suck at math, that’s 70.8% against the spread. Ridiculous.

Simply put, if you bet these picks you are swimming in it right now. We’re basically printing money and all you need to do is put your hands together, say, “thank you, Alan, for these wonderful free amounts of money” and then go on and load up.

Ride the wave. You’re welcome.

Week 6 MACtion Lines

Eastern Michigan Eagles @ Toledo Rockets (-14.5)
Central Michigan Chippewas @ Ohio University Bobcats (-10)
Bowling Green Falcons @ Miami-Ohio Redhawks (-14)
Ball State Cardinals @ Akron Zips (-6.5)
Kent State Golden Flashes @ Northern Illinois Huskies (-23.5)
Western Michigan Broncos (-6.5) @ Buffalo Bulls

6 Mid-American Conference matchups this week, all intra-conference games. 5 home favorites and one road dog is the kind of week that separates the kids from the grown folks. No line this week seems incredibly off and we’re due for a bad week. So you know what that means... time to kill it. 6-0 coming? Probably.

Fearless Leader’s Week 6 Bet-kakke Picks:

Mid-American Conference Picks
EMU (+14.5)
Ohio (-10)
Miami (-14)
Akron (-6.5)
NIU (-23.5)
WMU (-6.5)

BONUS PICKS
San Diego State (-10) @ UNLV
Marshall (-15) @ Charlotte
Ole Miss @ Auburn (-20.5)
Duke (+2.5) @ Virginia

We’re going with an extra Bonus Pick this week to make up for last week’s half point screwjob and I feel dirty picking so many favorites. 10-0 baby, let’s get it. Drop us a comment if you’re playing something different. Share the wealth, kiddies.